It has recently come to my attention that material from this blog has been plagiarized by person(s) and posted on other websites without my permission. Please note that material on the Child Welfare Blog (home page url: https://interestsofchildren.wordpress.com) may NOT be reprinted without permission.

On a more positive note, please check out my Twitter account (@ckhayek) on Superbowl Sunday for my analysis of enlightened resource allocation.

Several weeks ago, the Administration for Children and Families released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking or NPRM as it is known to those working in and with federal rules.http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=ACF-2015-0009-0001 The summary reads (in part) as follows: “This proposed rule will remove the requirement for a single comprehensive system and allow title IV-E agencies to implement systems that support current child welfare practice. It also proposes to establish requirements around design, data quality, and data exchange standards in addition to aligning these regulations with current and emerging technology developments to support the administration of title IV-E and IV-B programs….” To the casual reader, this may not seem like a big deal. To data geeks (myself included) this is a HUGE deal. This NPRM opens the doors to many long-awaited improvements and enhancements to child welfare data collection. Years from now we will look back and commiserate about the limitations of child welfare data collected prior to the (as yet proposed) changes.
I cannot help but imagine the things we will do with child welfare data in the future. I anticipate we will look back and think the ‘data dashboards’ that are popular now were miniscule artifacts compared to the things we will do in the future. In my data dreams, caseworkers will have access to real time data on their success in protecting children and achieving permanency. They will use predictive analytics to select not only the best type of placement and treatment for a child but also the best person to provide this care and treatment. This will be done on their mobile devices, while in the field. No more working through a list of providers, some of whom are less than ideal to handle the specific needs and problems presented. Instead caseworkers will have a short list of providers, including anticipated length of treatment required, from whom to choose.
Meanwhile, supervisors will have real-time data on the outcomes of each caseworker, including details about the types of families each caseworker should be assigned to achieve maximum benefits (in the form of positive outcomes for children and families). They will also know which guardian-ad-litems (GALs) have best represented children and the combination of GAL and caseworker most likely to work together successfully. They will have access to the latest reports from providers and educators, to monitor outcomes in mental health and education. Access to and reporting on health care outcomes will be as easy as clicking a few buttons on the keyboard.

When it comes to finding fault, there’s never a shortage of people lining up to point fingers and lay blame on failing child welfare systems. The state agency didn’t do enough to protect a child. Inadequate supports are provided to youth aging out of foster care. Reform efforts have failed. We have failed our children.

Perhaps we are looking in the wrong places for answers. Perhaps the answers are in our homes, our neighborhoods, our communities. Maybe, just maybe, we need to look at ourselves and ask, what am I doing to protect vulnerable children?

I’ve previously written on ways to get involved in the child welfare system. If you are one of the thousands shaking your head wondering how we could have failed our children, perhaps you should ask yourself, ‘what have I done to prevent child abuse and the need for children to enter, or stay in foster care?’. You’ve likely heard the saying, ‘if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem‘. Take a look in the mirror. What are you doing to be part of the child welfare solution? What are you doing in your home, your neighborhood, your community, to be a part of the solution?

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